Monday, 31 October 2022 marks the first day of the 2022 National Senior Certificate examinations. Matriculants around the country will be writing their English Home Language, First Additional Language, and Second Additional Language Paper one examinations.
The Matric class of 2022 have navigated difficult circumstances in the lead-up to this critical examination period. These learners were in Grade 10 in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic reached South African shores.
The Covid-19 pandemic meant that learners lost considerable classroom time as they were unable to attend school due to the pandemic-related lockdowns. Learners returned to school on a rotational basis which further affected their learning time.
South Africa’s power utility, Eskom is also battling to keep the lights on throughout the day as loadshedding has become an almost permanent occurrence.
Director-General for Basic Education, Hubert Mathanzima Mweli says the department is concerned about loadshedding as some practical subjects like Computers and Technology (CAT) and Information Technology (IT) require the use of computers to be completed.
Mweli said that to mitigate the impact of loadshedding, schools may be allowed to begin certain examinations earlier than they was scheduled.
It 100% depends on power, if you don't have electricity you won't be able to write
They explained, “If loadshedding was going to start at 11 o'clock or 12 o'clock instead of starting to write at 9 o'clock, schools were allowed to start at eight so that come the time for loadshedding, by half past 11 all schools had finished writing.”
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) General Secretary Mugwena Maluleke says they are satisfied with the department's announcement that schools will be allowed to move the time of examinations.
However, learners around the country are not exempt from experiencing load shedding. Learners could lose two and a half hours of preparation time if loadshedding occurs during the time they planned to study, which could cause anxiety.
Maluleke praised the work done by teachers to support matriculants in the lead-up to the examinations. This is as many hosted extra classes during holidays and weekends to help learners prepare.
The final examinations, the CAT and IT rewrites, will be written on Wednesday 12 December 2022 to close out the 2022 NSC examinations.
